Partnership aims to raise £50,000 to help the one million children and young people diagnosed with a mental health difficulty

MyDonate has announced its exclusive fundraising partnership with #IAMWHOLE, an anti-stigma mental health campaign developed in partnership with the NHS and YMCA, the world’s largest youth charity. Mental health difficulties can affect any child or young person, across all spectrums of society. Nearly one million children and young people in the UK and Ireland have a diagnosed mental health difficulty – equivalent to three in every school or college classroom.

#IAMWHOLE has a fundraising target which will strengthen the circle of support available to young people by enabling YMCA to continue delivering the mental initiatives that change lives. While other online fundraising platforms charge up to 5% commission, MyDonate’s 0% commission on donations means that more money will go straight to this charitable cause.

Denise Hatton, Chief Executive for YMCA England and Wales, said: “The #IAMWHOLE campaign is about challenging and changing how people think and talk about mental health difficulties. Only by being accountable for our own actions can we really drive change. For us, being responsible means choosing a transparent fundraising partner. MyDonate doesn’t take any commission on donations, so we are confident that our fundraising will go further and more money will go to supporting and giving a voice to children and young people struggling with mental health difficulties.”

This the first time that #IAMWHOLE is fundraising for direct support. The campaign, launched in 2016, is supported by UK music star Jordan Stephens from Rizzle Kicks. This year it will also benefit from MyDonate’s technology and communications expertise to help drive public awareness and fundraising.

Natalie Waugh, Head of MyDonate, BT, said: “We are proud that YMCA England and the NHS chose MyDonate. We are committed to responsible fundraising and as a commission-free platform there is greater transparency in knowing that more money will go to this charitable cause. Improving and championing mental health is something that’s always been important to us at BT. We are excited to support the first #IAMWHOLE fundraising campaign to make sure that even more young people get the help they deserve.”

A record breaking year for Children in Need

Children in Need raised a whopping £50.2m during the TV show this year. Over 500 volunteers handled more than 8,000 calls across five BT contact centres – Glasgow, Leicester, Lincoln, Warrington and Newcastle – while our technology supported the other 43 contact centres up and down the country. Plus, MyDonate for Telethons and Appeals powered all of the call centre and online transactions, taking nearly £9m of donations.